So, I am assuming this is a pipe dream but I would love to have some input on this...

Is it possible to get a TEFL job with no degree and no certificate? I do have teaching experience from living in Thailand during study abroad.

Any input and information on which countries it could work with would be appreciated. Don't worry, I am still in college and don't plan on dropping out...I was just interested to see if it is possible, and if so, how.

For teaching in China, BA degree or above is strictly required by State Bureau of Foreign Experts for work visa application stage. TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificates is prefered by the school if you would like to obtain one before your leaving. For your case, you could choose Summer Internship first, and apply one year placement after your graduation.

Please contact us freely for any other inqueries on teaching in China.

Sorry, Heather, I am in China now and I have been here in a long time and I am a foreigner.

Your answer is somewhat correct and somewhat erroneous.

To the OP (original poster), It IS possible for you to find a job in China.

NOT IN BEIJING, SHANGHAI, GUANGZHOU, CHENGDU, TIANJIN.

There no chances at all. They apply the rules strictly.

BUT there are other great cities like

Harbin and all of Heilongjiang; Qingdao and all of Shandong; Zhengzhou and most of Henan; Qinghuandao and most of Heibei; Nanning and Guangxi.

In these places, it is possible, but you will need to have a white face, to be honest, to be clean cut, to be able to pass a strict medical (meaning no drugs in the drug screen test, not a high level of alcohol damage to the liver), etc., etc.

I would recommend that you do an on-line TESOL from a half-way decent online TESOL provider. They are not expensive and the certificate will open doors.

Nonetheless, I should also stress that you will need to be above 25 years of age in the places that I mentioned and you will need to have a passport from either the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Great Britain or it won't work at all.

And if you are an ABC or a CBA, it won't work at all, sorry to say.

If you can provide me with some details, perhaps I can help you a bit more.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTMost TEFL jobs these days require at least a four-year degree but there are exceptions. Work can be found in China, Indonesia, Latin America, and Thailand but it is not advised without the proper credentials. There could be serious consequences for you and your employer. A lot depends on where you are planning to go, where you are from, and what other experience you have. It helps if you have majored in education, linguistics, or psychology. Advanced degrees are becoming more and more desirable and having one will certainly give you more leverage when choosing a job.

TEFL/CELTAThese certificate courses will definitely put you ahead of the competition. You are almost guaranteed a job if you have a four year degree plus a TEFL certificate. It is highly recommended that you complete or enroll in a course before the job search begins. These courses are generally four weeks in duration and cost from $1000 to $2500. Plus, you can study just about anywhere in the world! How great is that! Online courses are available but certain employers will not accept them. Do your research before choosing a course.

Find more EFL tips, travel advice, and EFL stories at teflflyer.info/blog or teflflyer.com.

I don't know where you want to teach, for sure there are numerous countries in Europe (e.g. Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic) where you can get a teaching job without experience or qualifications. Of course not in the main cities and it will be a matter of persistence but its possible. Good luck.

I agree with the above posters, it is possible to find work without experience or qualifications but don't you feel unethical? Students pay teachers to teach them so it just isn't fair to try and skip the getting qualified stage, even if it's a quick course, at least it's something. Teaching is supposed to be a profession, or am I just a bit old-fashioned in thinking that?

I have read lots of conflicting information about the requirement of a degree when starting a TEFL career in China. Particularly when it comes to visa requirements there seems to be some inconsistency.

Having checked the UK and US embassy websites there doesn't seem to be any stipulation stating that a person is required to have a degree in order to apply for a work visa (Z-visa). Can anybody working in China at the moment clarify what the situation is? If it doesn't cause too much offence could you also let me know what credentials you have (e.g. you process visas on behalf of your school) that allow you to state the information with utter confidence?

I don't want to sound like an elitist but I have to agree with Azariah. If a job is going to get done, then it should be done properly. Yes, there are unqualified but natural teachers and there are also teachers who have all the qualifications but not the people skills, but what it really comes down to is knowing the nuts and bolts and how to use them. To be a good teacher, you will need solid knowledge of how English works and how to teach it so it would be best to get a certificate. I don't feel it is necessary to have a degree because, frankly, there are so many gifted and intelligent people who just do not have one but are quite capable of taking a TEFL/TESOL/CELTA etc..., learning the skill of teaching and doing it well.

So, you might be able to find a job somewhere without any training but I think you may have great difficulty getting the job done well and will probably not enjoy teaching very much because of the stress involved with trying to do a job you know nothing about. Teaching is not just something anyone can do and when people treat the profession that way it undermines all the good work, effort and professionalism that others have achieved. In short, it gives teaching a bad name.

Sorry, I haven't really answered your question. However, yes, I have worked in a lot of language schools and I have come across people who don't have any qualifications. So, I suppose it can be done. It's probably a case of being in the right place at the right time.

Sorry, this is a bit of a bugbear for me. Teaching English with any degree of competency requires training and study. The idea that you can just turn up and teach without any effort or commitment is not only lazy and arrogant, but also detrimental to the whole industry, and does none of us any favours. People are paying good money for lessons, they should at least have someone who can do their job effectively.

For the record I don't have a degree, but I do have the CELTA - Something that I can't imagine teaching without the classroom training that it gave me. It costs around £1000 and is a major commitment, but you will learn your trade and be ready to teach at the end of it.

I teach English in Mudanjiang, China in the Heilongjiang Province. I took a 150 hour TESL course back home in Canada. Then I applied for a few jobs and here I am. But they really wanted me to come. So far my experience has been great. And I love the kids teach. I personally have my degree, but i've heard of people getting recruited just with their TESL/TEFL certificates.